Appeals in winding-up matters do not override the bar on criminal appeals from a Single Judge order.

Section 483 of the Companies Act was considered in relation to an order of conviction and fine passed under section 454(5) in winding-up proceedings. The High Court read section 483 as permitting appeals from orders made in the matter of winding up, but only on the same appellate footing as orders of the High Court in its ordinary jurisdiction. Because the impugned order arose from the Company Judge's criminal jurisdiction, the court held that the Letters Patent bar against appeals from a Single Judge in criminal matters continued to apply. Section 483 was therefore not treated as creating an appeal where the governing criminal appellate route was unavailable, and the appeal was held not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether an appeal lay under section 483 of the Companies Act against an order of conviction and fine passed under section 454(5) of the Companies Act in proceedings relating to winding up.

Analysis: Section 483 permits appeals from orders or decisions made in the matter of winding up, but the decisive words are that such appeals lie to the same Court, in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as appeals from orders of the High Court in its ordinary jurisdiction. The order under section 454(5) arose from the Company Judge's exercise of criminal jurisdiction, and an appeal from a Single Judge in criminal jurisdiction is not maintainable under the Letters Patent. The Court preferred the construction that section 483 does not override the bar applicable to criminal orders and does not create an appeal where the governing appellate route is unavailable.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable.

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